PI Status

Target met

Target missed (within 10%)

Target not achieved

No target to measure performance against

Data Only

Direction

Performance has improved

Performance has not changed / been sustained

Performance has declined

No previous performance to judge against

Action Status

Completed

Not Started; In Progress; Assigned

Overdue; Neglected

AMB 001

Overall Employment rate

76.8%

76.8%

82.5%

5/12

1^st Ashford

78.9%

2^nd Tunbridge Wells 78.3%

John Foster

Objective 1. A transport network that supports the local economy

PKG 002

Income from pay and display car parks per space

£1,112.44

£228.05

£223.66

£301.29

£276.49

£232.80

£1,029.49

£970.00

Jeff Kitson

PKG 007

Number of onboard Park & Ride bus transactions

397,724

90,246

90,847

106,662

90,152

96,000

377,907

400,000

Jeff Kitson

Park & Ride patronage has been in decline at about -6% year on year for a number of years. Changes to the service and renewed promotion has reduced this deficit to around -4% for 2013/14. Work continues with the contractor and as part of the procurement process (new contract in April 2014) to continue to improve patronage levels in the longer term.

PKG 008

Percentage change in bus usage on services from the Maidstone depot

-3.24%

Not measured for Quarters.

Contextual Indicator.

-1.64%

N/A

Jeff Kitson

OUT 001.01

Deliver an integrated transport strategy (ITS)

31-Mar-2015

Environment & Shared Services Directorate

The Local Plan and the Integrated transport Strategy are being developed together.  In January 2014 Cabinet agreed the vision and objectives for the strategy.  Consultation on the draft local plan closed on 7 May 2014, this will inform further changes to the ITS, prior to public consultation on the ITS in the summer.  It is expected that a draft ITS will be presented to scrutiny and cabinet by November 2014 from here if accepted, further changes will be require to align it with the proposals in the local plan.

OUT 001.02

Implement an infrastructure delivery plan

31-Mar-2015

Environment & Shared Services Directorate

The Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) is part of the evidence base that supports the Maidstone Borough Local Plan. The public consultation (Regulation 18) deadline for the local plan/IDP was successfully met. The IDP will follow the local plan programme so Regulation 19 consultation is planned for February 2015 and submission to the Secretary of State mid 2016. The IDP also supports the Community Infrastructure Levy Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule which is following the local plan programme.

Objective 2. A growing economy with rising employment, catering for a range of the skill sets to meet the demands of the local economy

DCV 001

Percentage of commercial planning applications completed within statutory timescales

90.91%

83.87%

90.48%

65.39%

66.67%

90.00%

81.37%

90.00%

Rob Jarman

For the year 83 commercial planning applications were determined within the statutory timescale. There were slightly less commercial applications received during 2013/14, with 102 compared to 110 received in 2012/13.  However, the Development team have been assisting with the Local Plan in relation to the call for sites. There are vacancies within the team which have been advertised vacancies and it is expected that the team will be fully resourced by September.

LVE 003

Percentage of vacant retail units within the town centre

10.04%

Not measured for Quarters.

8.84%

12.00%

John Foster

DCV 002a

Percentage of major business planning applications having pre-application discussions

96%

95.65%

90.00%

92%

92.45%

92%

Rob Jarman

DCV 002b

Percentage of those taking pre-applications advice where the application was then approved (Major Business Apps)

100.00%

100%

88%

90%

90.23%

90%

Rob Jarman

In 2012/13 the Development team had pre-application discussions on major 24 planning applications, this increased in 2013/14 with 49 major applications having pre-application discussions. In total 133 people used the pre-application advice service in 2013/14 and income has increase by 16% between 2012/13 and 2013/14. Performance has declined slightly from last year however it should be noted that this advice service and not all advice is followed.

LVE 002

Percentage of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (working age)

2.6%

2.2%

2.0%

1.9%

1.8%

2.7%

1.8%

2.7%

John Foster

E&S 001

Work experience placements delivered (by the Council) across the borough

21

3

6

2

15

32

50

John Foster

The Officer previously responsible for this indicator left the Council in quarter 2 and the new Economic Development Officer responsible for skills and employability started mid Quarter 4. However, the work programme has continued with 2 work experience placements in quarter 4. This gave one of these people valuable experience that has allowed them to get a job in the sector they trained in. There was a work experience coffee morning on the 30^th April and approximately 15-20 young people currently receiving Job Seekers Allowance were invited. It is hoped that various departments within the Council will be able to offer placements for 4-8 weeks, depending on the requirements of the service.

The Community Development Service is also in discussion with Job Centre Plus with the aim of holding a coffee morning and offering work experience at the Maidstone Borough Council Depot.

E&S 002

Number of employers that have engaged with NEETs (not in education, employment or training) through MBC

0

17

0

0

25

17

100

John Foster

The Officer previously responsible for this indicator left the Council in quarter 2 and the new Economic Development Officer responsible for skills and employability started mid Quarter 4. Therefore no employers have been engaged to date. A comprehensive list of visits to local businesses is being developed to follow up contact initiated by the previous post holder, and to engage new businesses identified through networking events. These visits will help to collate labour market information relating to the skills needs of local businesses and to promote work experience, apprenticeships and traineeships as a viable employment option.

There is a continued need to promote apprenticeships and work experience to businesses as part of a broader communications campaign. The Council is currently involved in ongoing work with the Downs Mail newspaper to publicise the advantages to businesses of employing young people and to potentially run a main campaign to increase the number of work experience placements offered within the borough.

KCC 002

Percentage of 16 to 18 year olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs)

4.44%

Not measured for Quarters.

Contextual Indicator.

5.06%

Sarah Robson

KCC 003

Percentage of the working age population educated to NVQ level 4 or higher

30.8%

Not measured for Quarters.

Contextual Indicator.

32.6%

Sarah Robson

R&B 002

Value of business rateable floor space

£141,782,055

Not measured for Quarters.

£141,699,516

£142,716,203

Steve McGinnes

OUT 002.01

Local Development Framework and Core Strategy

31-Mar-2015

Environment & Shared Services Directorate

Public consultation (Regulation 18) on the Maidstone Borough Local Plan was completed on 7 May 2014 in accordance with the agreed programme. A further call for sites has been undertaken in an attempt to fully meet the council's objectively assessed housing need. A public consultation (Regulation 18) on any additional land allocations will be undertaken during summer 2014. A refined local plan, appropriately amended as a result of consultation responses, will be subject to the next stage of public consultation (Regulation 19) in February 2015 before being submitted to the Secretary of State (Autumn 2015). Adoption is expected mid 2016.

OUT 002.02

Review Economic Development Strategy

31-Mar-2015

Regeneration & Communities Directorate

A new Economic Development Strategy is being commissioned and a consultant has been appointed. A Maidstone Economic Business Partnership (MEBP) has been established to help shape future development plans in relation to economic development. In March 2014 a business survey was launched (still underway) to identify what Maidstone businesses want and need to support growth in the borough.

OUT 002.03

Assist businesses who want to develop or locate to the Borough through our pre-application planning advice service and ensuring that the planning committee continues to be effective in supporting the Council’s priorities.

31-Mar-2015

Regeneration & Communities Directorate

The pre-application advice service continues to perform well with over 90% of major applications taking up this service. It has recently been agreed that Economic Development officers will be invited to all pre-planning meetings with commercial development clients. A monthly meeting between Planning, Economic Development and Housing officers has also been established to review new planning applications and potential developments prior to committee reports being compiled.

OUT 002.04

Review Parkwood Industrial Estate and implement a strategy for its regeneration

31-Mar-2015

Regeneration & Communities Directorate

Discussions have been held with key tenants and a regular programme of meetings have been established. Meetings with key owners of development sites have commenced. Proposals are now being finalised for improvements to the entrance and Bircholt Road.

OUT 002.05

Work with partners through the LSP to deliver a step change in Maidstone’s learning and skills performance to ensure a high-quality skills base sufficient to enable people in Maidstone to realise their full potential.

31-Mar-2015

Regeneration & Communities Directorate

The Maidstone Locality Board no longer exists, but the priority sub group for Tackling Worklessness and Poverty remains, with the lead being taken by the Economic Development team via the Skills and Employability Officer to develop a programme of apprenticeships, work placements and training/skills development opportunities. There is also a Local Environmental Improvements and the Troubled Families programme that contribute to this area of work. Since April 2013, Operation Civic has been held on a quarterly basis across different wards of Maidstone including Shepway North and South, Tovil, Fant and Penenden Heath and has engaged with over 2,000 Maidstone residents in the last year.

OUT 002.06

Deliver the High Street Regeneration Project

31-Mar-2015

Regeneration & Communities Directorate

Phase 1 and 2 were both completed on time and on budget. A post implementation economic impact assessment will be undertaken in Summer 2015 however, we believe that the High Street and Bank Street improvement scheme has produced a pedestrian friendly and aesthetically pleasing environment. The scheme also appears to have had a beneficial effect on driver behaviour and this will continue to produce long term road safety benefits”.

OUT 002.08

Local Implementation Plan Homes and Community Agency milestones

31-Mar-2015

Regeneration & Communities Directorate

The LIP was a mechanism used by the previous government and has not been carried forward by the coalition government in the same way. The only recognisable remnant is the affordable housing programme. The Housing Service has developed a programme in partnership with our housing providers and the Homes & Communities Agency that has successfully delivered over 600 new affordable homes over the past three years. The programme has delivered a wide range of property type and size of accommodation, ranging from 1 bedroom flats to four bedroom houses. These homes were provided to rent and also as shared ownership, enabling many families to get their step on the property ladder. In addition the council entered into a contract with the HCA to return 10 long-term properties back into use. The programme was so successful that the HCA provided extra funds to enable a further three long-term empty properties to be repaired and returned to use. This also enabled the Maidstone to acquire a 'developer' status with the HCA and more recently to be appointed as a Registered Provider of social housing.

AMB 002

Satisfaction with the local area as a place to live

84%

84%

87%

No data available

No data available

No data available

Angela Woodhouse

Objective 3. Decent, affordable housing in the right places across a range of tenures

DCV 003

Percentage of residential planning applications processed within statutory timescales

71.91%

62.16%

77.50%

72.09%

40.91%

75.00%

62.81%

75.00%

Rob Jarman

There have been performance issues for all types of planning applications due to conflicting priorities, planning officers to helping with the MKIP Project work to deliver the planning support shared service and undertaking site assessments to support the Strategic Plan. This is in addition to the constant issues of Section 106 and committee timescales impacting on application determination. Actions are in place to deal with the staffing issues, two posts were advertised in May and discussions are underway on recruiting to career planning officer posts. Whilst the MKIP project work has reduced significantly with the live date for the shared service approaching the scale of the changes for planning officers and support staff means that performance may be impacted throughout June and July in particular which makes increasing the staffing levels in the short term even more critical.

DCV 014a

Average time taken (weeks) to process planning applications (Majors)

22.70 weeks

32.24 weeks

17.75 weeks

33.00 weeks

24.00 weeks

26.70 weeks

24.00 weeks

Rob Jarman

There have been fewer major applications determined in 2013/14, with 56 determined this year compared to 64 in 2012/13. In total 55.36% of all major applications were determined within the statutory timescale, this is a significant decline from performance in previous year , in 2011/12 81.82% of majors were determined within the statutory timescales and in 2012/13 68.75% were determined in time.  However; it should be noted that over 90% of major applications are using the pre-application advice service and there have been occasions where the extended time scales have been agreed with the developer.

Median: 22.28 weeks

DCV 014b

Average time taken (weeks) to process minor planning applications

15.47 weeks

9.83

weeks

10.27 weeks

13.61 weeks

15.00 weeks

12.17 weeks

15.00 weeks

Rob Jarman

In 2013/14 we processed 337 minor planning applications this is a drop of 10% in terms of applications received compared to 2012/13. Of the 337 applications received for this year 71% were processed within the statutory timeframe.

Median: 8.42 weeks

DCV 014c

Average time taken (weeks) to process other planning applications

8.84

weeks

8.10

weeks

8.94

weeks

8.92

weeks

11.00 weeks

8.66

weeks

11.00 weeks

Rob Jarman

In 2013/14 we processed 969 other planning applications, this is a drop of 9% in terms of this type of application received compared to 2012/13. Of the 969 applications received for this year 88% were processed within the statutory timeframe.

Median: 7.71 weeks

HSG 001

Number of affordable homes delivered (gross)

244

74

32

75

8

11

189

200

John Littlemore

A total of 189 affordable completions are reported for the year, which is 11 short of the 200 target. Delivery of First Buy and Help to Buy products have been low this year (only 6 First Buy products have been provided), compared to previous years which has normally been anything between 15-30 properties. Low delivery has therefore had an impact on meeting the 200 target. Developers will be encouraged to offer this product on new-build schemes within Maidstone, wherever possible.

HSG 003

Average grant per MBC funded affordable home unit

£8264.00

Not measured for Quarters.

£7698.00

£10000.00

John Littlemore

HSG PS 003

Number of private sector homes improved

65

101

68

61

45

295

180

John Littlemore

SPT 004

New homes built on previously developed land (BV 106)

84.44%

Not measured for Quarters.

60.00%

Sue Whiteside

SPT 006

Net additional homes provided (NI 154)

630

Not measured for Quarters.

500

Sue Whiteside

The data for SPT 004 and SPT 006 comes from annual survey that is done for the Annual Monitoring Report. The survey is undertaken in May each year.

OUT 003.01

New Housing: Enable the delivery of a range of high quality homes that are desirable and affordable to all sections of the community

31-Mar-2015

Regeneration & Communities Directorate

A total of 189 affordable homes are reported as completed for 2013/14, across a range of tenures (156 were affordable rent, 6 were first buy and 18 shared ownership). The 180 affordable homes comprise of a mixture of one, two, three and four bed units.  Take up of First Buy and Help to Buy products have been low this year compared to previous year therefore we will be encouraging developers to offer these products on new build schemes in the borough.

OUT 003.02

Existing Housing: Ensure our existing housing is suitable and able to meet future challenges; providing sought after homes now and into the future

31-Mar-2015

Regeneration & Communities Directorate

The Business Improvement Team is working with the Housing Service to help develop the council's response to stock conditions within the private rented sector and home ownership. The council continues to bring property occupied by vulnerable people up to decent homes standard (276 in 2013/14), using the benchmark worked up by the previous government. The new Housing Assistance Policy provides a more tailored grant regime that encourages landlords to improve their homes and management standards through the council's accreditation scheme. Landlords receiving grants are also required to provide nomination rights to the council, which helps to ease demand on the housing register by providing homes in addition to those provided by housing associations. The scheme also helped Maidstone discharge its homelessness duty into the private rented sector for 14 families, the first local housing authority in Kent to use the new powers under the Localism Act.

OUT 003.03

Homelessness & vulnerable groups: Commission and provide services with partners that meet identified needs, reduce inequalities, are responsive and timely, promote stable, strong communities, self-reliance and encourage positive aspirations

31-Mar-2015

Regeneration & Communities Directorate

A new Homelessness Strategy has been developed and is due for adoption by the Cabinet Member in early August 2014. The new Strategy builds on recent success in changing service delivery that has seen the introduction of on line application forms, text messaging and emailing clients rather than using paper letters. This has improved efficiency by providing a quicker service to applicants whilst also reducing the overall cost of the service. The increase in homelessness has made for a challenging year and although the numbers in temporary accommodation is higher than our standards would want, our figures compares well with most of the other local housing authorities in Kent. The introduction of the new Allocation Scheme has been a major achievement. The new scheme was introduced in April 2013 together with a new IT system. Both were large projects that were implemented by the Housing Service without difficulties arising. A measure of the success has been the doubling in number of households in the 'Band A community contribution' group. This Band was meant to encourage people to link getting into work or training with access to subsidised housing and the Band has doubled in size since the launch in April, whereas the overall number of the register has only risen by less than 10%.

Objective 4: Continue to be a clean and attractive environment  for people who live in and visit the borough

COM 008

Satisfaction with local area as a place to live

84%

(2011/12)

Bi-annual Resident Survey Indicators.

84%

87%

Angela Woodhouse

DEP 004

Satisfaction with street cleanliness

56% (2011/12)

53%

58%

Jennifer Shepherd

Officers and members will be looking at the areas of the borough where satisfaction with street cleanliness was lower and the factors that may have contributed to this.

PKS 002

Satisfaction with Parks and Open Spaces (Residents Survey)

76%

(2011/12)

Bi-annual Resident Survey Indicators.

80%

78%

Jason Taylor

CMP 001

CO2 reduction from local authority operations (NI 185)

0.8%

Not measured for Quarters.

-3%

John Littlemore

The data for 2013/14 reporting period is expected by September 2014. Please note a refresh of the Carbon Management Plan is required this year as the current plan ends in March 2015. These comments relate to the 2012/13 out-turn.

In 2012/13 there was a small increase (0.82%) in carbon emissions compared to the previous year. This is partly explained by the fact that the year was a particularly cold year and a significant increase in emissions from the waste services fleet (which accounts for 33% of the councils emissions. A new contract for the waste fleet services which incorporates the use of vegetable based fuels will reduce this going forward. This service began in August 2013.

Due to changes in to the conversion factors for emissions related to national grid electricity, all years were recalculated and a re-baselining exercise was undertaken. This was carried out in accordance with the guidance from Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).  Overall, the council's emissions are 12.5% below the baseline year of 2008/09 and are 1.5% above the target for 2012-13 accounting period.

DEP 001

The percentage of relevant land and highways that is assessed as having deposits of litter that fall below an acceptable level (NI 195a)

1.67%

1.10%

1.67%

1.67%

2.62%

1.70%

1.20%

1.70%

Jennifer Shepherd

The target for 4th quarter of the 2013/14 was missed by 0.92% but the overall score for 2013/14 is still on target. With this small target and nature of Street Cleansing there will be the opportunity that freshly dropped litter (dropped after street cleaning, that we have haven’t been able to responded to) will have an impact on the cleansing scores.

DEP 002

The percentage of relevant land and highways that is assessed as having deposits of detritus that fall below an acceptable level (NI 195b)

6.29%

Not measured for Quarters.

4.81%

5.80%

 Jennifer Shepherd

DEP 003

Cost of street cleansing per head of population

£8.80

Not measured for Quarters

£10.01

£8.80

Jennifer Shepherd

Additional cleansing was undertaken following the flooding over Christmas and January which resulted in an increase in overall costs.

DEP 007

Percentage of fly-tipping reports responded to within one working day

99.39%

97.24%

98.74%

99.77%

98.25%

99.00%

98.54%

99.00%

Jennifer Shepherd

PKS 001

Cost of maintaining the Borough's parks and green spaces per head of population

£12.61

Not measured for Quarters.

£12.76

£12.61

Jason Taylor

WCN 001

Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting (NI 192)

44.40%

46.26%

46.30%

45.95%

44.76%

48.00%

45.83%

48.00%

Jennifer Shepherd

The annual target has been marginally missed. It should be noted that this year the Council began a new contract for collection waste in partnership with Swale and Tunbridge Wells and extended. A new Waste Strategy was agreed in April 2014 with targets for 60% of all waste to be recycled by 2019. New technology has also been introduced which will improve the customers experience through greater visibility of the service and allow any problems to be resolved more swiftly.   

WCN 002

Cost of household waste collection

£55.50

Not measured for Quarters.

£43.48

£55.50

Jennifer Shepherd

WCN 005

Residual household waste per household (NI 191)

447.18kg

116.47kg

111.26kg

113.30kg

111.83kg*

100.80kg

452.86kg*

420.00kg

Jennifer Shepherd

The figures currently provided by Kent County Council are currently being reviewed as there are data quality concerns when compared with the figures provided by Biffa Municipal.

DCE 001

Percentage of planning enforcement cases signed off within 21 days

86.54%

95.10%

94.92%

88.00%

89.91%

90.00%

91.58%

90.00%

Rob Jarman

CDP 011

Recorded crime per 1,000 population

53.3

Not measured for Quarters.

Contextual Indicator.

53.4

Sarah Robson

OUT 004.01

Deliver focussed enforcement activity to ensure high impact on the cleanliness of the Borough

31-Mar-2015

Jennifer Shepherd

Area based enforcement has been trialled and the revised scheme has been implemented. A new contract is now in place and campaigns on littering are being undertaken.

OUT 004.02

Work with partners to ensure that all areas of the Borough are clean and well-maintained

31-Mar-2015

Jennifer Shepherd

Area based cleaning has been in place for three years and has resulted in efficiencies in the street cleaning team. A new approach for Jubilee square to keep it looking clean and attractive has been implemented. Further work is planned following the resident survey to identify areas of the borough where satisfaction with street cleanliness is low.

OUT 004.03

Ensure provision of timely specialist advice and services on heritage and landscape design to protect and enhance Maidstone's environment

31-Mar-2015

Deanne Cunningham

Procedures and processes have all been revised following agreement with MKIP partners. The revised processes currently require full testing. Training of staff will then be undertaken prior to implementation.

OUT 004.04

Deliver the Carbon Management Plan to ensure that the Council reduces it’s carbon footprint by 3% per annum

31-Mar-2015

John Newington

In 2012/13 there was a small increase (0.82%) in carbon emissions compared to the previous year. This is partly explained by the fact that the year was a particularly cold year and a significant increase in emissions from the waste services fleet (which accounts for 33% of the councils emissions. A new contract for the waste fleet services which incorporates the use of vegetable based fuels will reduce this going forward. This service began in August 2013.

Due to changes in the conversion factors for emissions related to national grid electricity, all years were recalculated and a re-baselining exercise was undertaken. This was carried out in accordance with the guidance from DECC which are summarised here:

www.ukconversionfactorscarbonsmart.co.uk/documents/What's%20new%20guidance_v3.pdf

Overall, the council's emissions are 12.5% below the baseline year of 2008/09 and are 1.5% above the target for 2012-13 accounting period.

A refresh of the Carbon Management Plan is required this year. The 2013/14 out-turn is expected to be available in September 2014.

OUT 004.05

Maximise our leisure and cultural offer to enhance the quality of life for our residents whilst attracting visitors, new residents and businesses

31-Mar-2015

The Hazlitt Arts Centre has now been contracted out to management by Parkwood Leisure. The Mote Leisure Centre is outsourced to Serco. Both contracts include development outcomes in partnership with MBC.

A new concept has now been adopted for Maidstone Culture and Leisure (MCL) and a business plan is currently being prepared. A new Festivals and Events Strategy and Toolkit are also in development.

OUT 004.06

New Waste Contract

30-Apr-2013

Jennifer Shepherd

The new waste contract was rolled in Maidstone in July 2013. Although there have been some teething issues while the crews familiarised themselves with the new arrangements, overall the service has provided significant improvements to the services resident receive including enhanced recycling collections. New technology has also been introduced which will improve the customers experience through greater visibility of the service and allow any problems to be resolved more swiftly.   

Objective 5. Residents in Maidstone are not disadvantaged because of where they live or who they are, vulnerable people are assisted and the level of deprivation is reduced

CDP 003

Percentage of residents participating in neighbourhood action planning as a percentage of the ward population (includes Planning for Real consultation)

9.95%

Not measured for Quarters

7.79%

10.00%

Sarah Robson

The engagement and consultation work that is undertaken to inform neighbourhood action planning runs in cycles.  With engagement and consultation being the focus in year one in each area, followed by a period where residents and officers are planning and implementing projects as a result of the consultation.

HSG 004

Average time taken to process and notify applicants on the housing register (days)

3.5

11.55

3.5

Neil Coles

Auditing has identified an error in the reports used for calculating the time taken to process housing register applications. This is likely to have affected the accuracy of the in year performance data. The Housing Manager has established an best estimate out-turn figure however this figure includes invalid applications which have been submitted and were considered processed by requesting further information. Improvements to the reporting tool have been identified.  Once a revised scoring mechanism has been tested and is producing robust outcomes the service will provide data around this activity.

HSG 005

Number of households prevented from becoming homeless through the intervention of housing advice

592

64

118

91

85

112

358

450

Neil Coles

Performance remains below target due to difficulties in resolving tenancy issues and access to private landlords as a result of the high demand for housing across Maidstone. Work continues with partner agencies to improve our effectiveness in intervening in the private rented sector to address this.

INT 001

Percentage of the borough covered by broadband (2mb and faster)

75.69%

Not measured for Quarters

83.63%

(Nov 13)

77.00%

Dave Lindsay

LVE 007

Gap between median wage of employees (resident) and median wage of employees (Workplace)

£62.40

Not measured for Quarters

£67.10

£68.00

John Foster

MFM 001a

Number of families accepted on the Maidstone Families Matter programme

76

49

2

34

30

161

161

Ellie Kershaw

MFM 001b

Percentage of those accepted to the Maidstone Families Matter programme that have been engaged with

22.37%

59.18%

850.00%

441.18%

Establish Baseline

95.83%

Establish Baseline

Ellie Kershaw

The Maidstone Families Matter Programme is running well. Partner engagement is now very high, and as a result of this there are good numbers of families being nominated into the programme. The payment by results measures are starting to be hit, with Maidstone having the second highest claim rate of all of the Kent districts.

R&B 004

Time taken to process Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit new claims and change events (NI 181)

9.84

days

10.91

days

7.74

days

10.29

days

5.88

days

10.00

days

8.25

days

10.00

days

Steve McGinnes

OUT 005.01

Reduce inequalities within communities through preventative action

31-Mar-2015

Sarah Robson

During 2014/15, the Community Development Plan Action Plan will be reviewed with a view to re-profiling our actions and budgets to reduce inequalities and ensure that the actions around health, employment, education and housing are addressed and meet the Borough Council's wider strategic priorities. Greater links with the newly formed Maidstone Partnership Board will ensure both internal and external partners work together both strategically and operationally to improve joint commissioning and budgetary re-profiling.

OUT 005.02

Promote active citizenship – to facilitate and support increased involvement by local people in decision making and involvement in their neighbourhoods

31-Mar-2015

Sarah Robson

Programmes such as Community First and Shepway Neighbourhood Action Planning (NAP) continue to encourage and promote community involvement in their neighbourhoods.

OUT 005.03

Review the Parkwood Planning for Real activity to inform further work and activities supporting communities in identifying and meeting their needs, opportunities, rights and responsibilities

31-Mar-2015

Sarah Robson

No further action required as actions have now been completed.

The Shepway Neighbourhood Action Planning was consulted on this year and is now underway. The Park Wood Neighbourhood Action Plan Evaluation and Recommendations Report and End of Project Report were completed April 2013.

OUT 005.04

Implement meaningful community commissioning of services for local people

31-Mar-2015

Sarah Robson

A pilot project was undertaken with the voluntary and community sector to review Social Return on Investment (SROI) and its impact on the SLA funding received through the CP team. University of Kent was commissioned to undertake a SROI Research Paper (completed April 2012). Meaningful community commissioning can be undertaken through the NAP process, rather than SROI to ensure greater community engagement and inclusion.

OUT 005.05

Increase targeted support for families with children aged 0-3, particularly the most vulnerable and deprived

31-Mar-2015

Sarah Robson

A Task and Finish group was set up with partners to develop a partnership approach and action plan to target families with 0-5s. The action plan has now been completed and adopted by partners. In terms of reporting line, the 0-5s focus group will sit under the Children's Operational Group (replacing the local Children's Trust) and will link in with the children centres steering group, which will be extending its reach from 0-11 years.

Objective 6. Services are customer focused and and residents are satisfied with them

COM 001

Satisfaction with the way the Council runs things

63%

(2011/12)

Bi-annual Resident Survey Indicators.

66%

65%

Angela Woodhouse

COM 007

Percentage of residents that feel that the Council keeps them well informed about the services and benefits it provides

63%

(2011/12)

67%

65%

Angela Woodhouse

ACC 004

Percentage of residents agreeing that the Council provides value for money (Residents Survey)

46%

(2011/12)

43%

48%

Angela Woodhouse

Just over four in ten residents (43%) agree that Maidstone Borough Council provides value for money (5% ‘strongly agree’ and 38% ‘tend to agree’), whilst a quarter (25%) disagree (5% ‘strongly disagree’ and 20% ‘tend to disagree’). Around a third of residents (32%) neither agree nor disagree that Maidstone Borough Council provides value for money. In 2011, 46% of residents were in agreement. It should be noted however, no mid-point (‘neither agree nor disagree’) was included in the 2011 survey, this was added in 2013 to facilitate LG Inform benchmarking. As a result, ‘don’t know’ were included in the 2011 data to make approximate year on year comparisons. Further caution is advised because of changes to the question wording and the order in which this question appeared in the questionnaire. This year we will be producing an annual report to highlight how we spend our money and our achievements. We are also holding focus groups with residents to look at the information they would like to know about the council and to highlight the services we provide and the cost to them as tax payers.

PKS 003

Satisfaction with the Leisure Centre (Residents Survey)

53%

(2011/12)

Bi-annual Resident Survey Indicators.

56%

55%

Jason Taylor

WCN 004

Satisfaction with refuse and recycling collections

82% Refuse

78% Recycling

(2011/12)

82%

80%

Jennifer Shepherd

Change in collection method to align with LG Inform, previously two questions, one on refuse and one on recycling.  The direction of this indicator has been rated improved as the average of the 2011/12 results is 80%.

CTC 001

The average wait time for calls into the Contact Centre

74.25 seconds

221.00 seconds

276.00 seconds

95.00 seconds

93.00 seconds

70.00 seconds

171.25 seconds

70.00 seconds

Sandra Marchant

There has been a slight improvement in the average wait times for calls into the Contact Centre during the last quarter but unfortunately the overall target has still not been met. However there was a 14% increase in the overall number of calls received in this quarter compared to the previous quarter. January is typically a quiet month but this year there was an increase in calls due to the flooding and this continued into February. March is always an extremely busy month when the Council Tax bill are sent out. The Contact Centre also lost more Customer Service Advisors during this quarter which again impacts on performance levels.

CTC 002

Percentage of Visitors to the Gateway responded to by a CSA within 20 minutes

72.71%

79.93%

59.38%

80.56%

76.41%

75%

73.87%

75%

Sandra Marchant

The failure to achieve the target at quarter 2 has meant that the annual target has been marginally missed as performance was on target for all the remaining quarters.  The Gateway Team appointed several new staff during quarter 2 which resulted in a lot of training going on.  Overall there has been a 0.7% decrease in visitors to the Gateway compared to last year however; gateway staff are now assisting in responding to email enquiries, which have been shown to be increasing.

PIT 001

Percentage of complaints resolved within the specified timescale

94.44%

95.75%

97.14%

91.3%

98.31%

95%

95.44%

95%

Angela Woodhouse

PIT 002

Satisfaction with complaint handling

39.45%

20%

40%

36.17%

41.67%

45%

37.29%

45%

Angela Woodhouse

The target for 2013/14 has not been achieved.  Steps have been taken to try and improve satisfaction with complaints handling, with training from the Local Government Ombudsman being delivered to staff in January 2014, subsequently the results for quarter 4 do show an improvement in satisfaction.  Additional customer services training is being planned for 2014/15. The survey form was redesigned during 2013/14 and an electronic version for email has been created. The survey is now sent out weekly which has led to improved return rate.

R&B 009

Overall satisfaction with the benefits service

84.62%

88.57%

93.86%

88.98%

81.65%

80%

88.37%

80%

Steve McGinnes

OUT 006.01

Ensure we use performance management data, customer satisfaction and customer feedback to improve services

31-Mar-2015

Angela Woodhouse

The new complaints system has been implemented and the complaints survey has been revised and is now sent out weekly rather than quarterly which has improved the response rate.

The Residents survey went out to 6,000 households to assess levels of satisfaction with the council and its services we are now in the process of analysing this information to inform the next Strategic Plan.

OUT 006.02

Review the way we interact with our customers

31-Mar-2015

Georgia Hawkes

The customer focussed services review was completed in October 2012. It included focus groups, interviews and surveys with residents and businesses, visits to other councils, analysis of customer transaction data and use of Mosaic Public Sector to look at the types of people who contact us, how they contact us, how frequently and for which services, The main aim of the project was to make recommendations on how the Council should be delivering customer services for the future. The new model is essentially digital first - a full range of services provided via the website or through apps, a reduced desire for person to person calls and an increased automated telephone service, face to face available through appointments at our offices and partners supporting transactions and the possibility of online and telephone points throughout the borough and hosted by partners. The new model of customer service delivery for the future and the actions we plan to take to deliver it was detailed in the Customer Service Improvement Strategy adopted by Cabinet on 10 April 2013.

Objective 7. Effective, cost efficient services are delivered across the borough

BIM 003a

Percentage of customer contacts made in person in the Gateway

7.95%

7.80%

8.75%

7.67%

7.65%

7.00%

7.96%

7.00%

Georgia Hawkes

BIM 003b

Percentage of customer contacts made online by visiting the councils website

75.12%

75.77%

71.00%

72.85%

72.73%

77.00%

73.21%

77.00%

Georgia Hawkes

BIM 003c

Percentage of customer contacts made by phone through the contact centre

16.94%

16.43%

20.25%

19.49%

19.61%

16.00%

18.83%

16.00%

Georgia Hawkes

In quarter 4 we have seen an increase in calls of 5% compared to the previous year. No single service has seen a dramatic increase but Waste and Council tax the two biggest services in the contact centre have seen significant raises of 8% and 14% respectively. This is probably due to the implementation of the new waste contract and the localisation of council tax scheme changes. Face to face visits have decreased by 12% (down by 2532) with the majority of this being due to a 32% reduction in casual callers. We have however seen a 34% increase in Council Tax visits for similar reasons to the increase seen in the Contact Centre. The website has seen another drop compared to the same period last year down by 46806. This is a trend that has been consistent since the launch of the new site and the reasons were outlined in Q3’s comment. We have though seen a 38% increase in the use of our online forms (604 extra transactions) with much of the growth coming from the introduction of forms built using our new forms package Achieve.

Overall for the year we have seen all contacts to the council decrease 108411 less contacts than the previous year. This drop is mostly due to a 98120 reduction in web visits, but we also saw an 8327 drop in face to face visits (10%) and 1964 less calls.

BIM 004

Reduction in number of out-going post items

-3.83%

9.54%

-10.86%

-12.21%

-11.00%

-4.76%

-11.00%

Georgia Hawkes

The overall number of post items sent through Corporate Support in 2013/14 has reduced by a net 18,922 items. Figures for 2012/13 included the post sent for the Police Commissioner’s election which we have been unable to remove, so actually the real reduction will be less than this figure. 

However, there are a number of departments where the number of postal items has increased - total increased post 24,270.

The reduction in post items being sent out is 43,192 - the most significant reduction has been achieved by Housing Options -  the number items has reduced by 14,930 or 78% - this is probably due to increased customers contact is via text and emails. Waste Collection had a reduction of 2057 items, mainly because 2012/13 included information being sent for the new waste collection contract. Crematorium sent 1751 fewer items as more funeral directors are using email. Elections sent 17,785 fewer items but it should be noted that the 2012/13 figure includes post for the Police Commissioners election.  

CTC 004

Avoidable contact: the proportion of customer contact that is of low or no value to the customer (NI 14)

4.4%

5.0%

9.3%

6.3%

4.1%

4.3%

6.1%

4.3%

Sandra Marchant

There were a lot of avoidable contacts in the period July to September 2013 mainly due to the introduction of the new waste contract, with 83% of the avoidable contacts being designated service failure where many customers had to keep chasing because their bins had not been emptied or they were awaiting delivery of replacement bins. Unfortunately although the target was achieved in quarter 4, performance did not improve far enough to allow the annual target to be met.

DCV 007

Cost of planning per application

£258

Not measured for Quarters

£115.40

£258

Rob Jarman

R&B 005

Percentage of Non-domestic Rates Collected (BV 010)

97.66%

33.48%

61.12%

87.82%

97.80%

97.70%

97.80%

97.00%

Steve McGinnes

R&B 006

Percentage of Council Tax collected (BV 009)

98.30%

29.90%

58.20%

86.74%

98.30%

98.30%

98.30%

98.30%

Steve McGinnes

R&B 007

Value of fraud identified by the fraud partnership

£974,000.30

£281,969.76

£130,732.55

£346,687.90

£207,000.00

£187,500.00

£966,390.21

£750,000.00

Steve McGinnes

BIM 002

Percentage of financial transactions not carried out on-line or by direct debit/standing order

10.38%

10.69%

9.92%

8.28%

13.97%

10%

10.27%

10%

Paul Riley/ Georgia Hawkes

DCV 009

Percentage of planning decisions taken under delegation

92.13%

92.84%

94.26%

93.27%

91.72%

92.50%

93.12%

92.50%

Ryan O'Connell

HRO 001/BV 12

Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence (rolling year) (BV 12)

9.18 days

9.39 days

9.84 days

8.51 days

8.17 days

8.50 days

8.17 days

8.50 days

Dena Smart

Short-term sickness currently stands at 2.60 days per employee and long-term at 5.57 day per employee.

WCN 006

Missed bins

21.34

20.51

186.04

98.47

64.89

25

94.12

25

Jennifer Shepherd

There were some teething issues with the new waste contract when it was first introduced in July. This was due to the need for the crews to familiarise themselves with the new collections arrangement and technology.  The quarter 4 figure is elevated due to a peak at the beginning of January, a result of Christmas and Bank Holiday changes however it should be noted that the average for February and March was 49 per 100,000. There are targets within the contract relating to number of missed bins which will be aligned with the KPI target going forward.

OUT 007.01

Seek out and implement new ways of delivering services that are not our core business, such as the Theatre and the Museum

31-Mar-2015

Zena Cooke;

The Hazlitt Arts Centre has now been contracted out to management by Parkwood Leisure. The Moat Leisure Centre is outsourced to Serco. Both contracts include development outcomes in partnership with MBC.

A new concept has now been adopted for Maidstone Culture and Leisure (MCL) and a business plan is currently being prepared.

OUT 007.02

Progress the shared services programme for those services that it is practical to do so and savings can be achieved.

31-Mar-2015

David Edwards

Implementation projects for Planning Support and Environmental Health began in 2013/14 and both services went live in June 2014. The Fraud Investigation Team has moved from a two-way to a three-way shared service, with the new service in place from April 2014. A shared GIS (Geographic Information Systems) services also went live in June 2014, covering the three MKIP authorities. A new shared services Director has been appointed, Paul Taylor from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, who will lead on operational delivery of Mid Kent Services to include Audit, HR, ICT, Legal and Revenues and Benefits. The post is for a trial period of one year and began on 1^st May 2014.

OUT 007.03

Undertake a programme of business improvement service reviews to ensure services are customer focused and delivered efficiently and effectively.

31-Mar-2015

Georgia Hawkes

As part of the wider Customer Service Improvement Programme, the Business Improvement team are undertaking a programme of reviews, working with all customer facing services to help them become more customer focussed, efficient, effective and deliver services 'digital first' wherever appropriate. The team has worked with Parking Services to look at residents parking permits and some quick win recommendations have been implemented e.g. stopping sending out reminder letters and offering email reminders instead, postal applications not accepted in the future, Gateway staff to verify proofs rather than them being scanned, sorted by Corporate Support and verified in the back office, clearer list of proofs on the website, electoral register to be used to verify applications if possible etc. Staff have reported the process is now much easier and staff time efficiencies of around 0.3 FTE have been delivered, plus £3,000 of postage savings predicted for 2015/16. A cost/benefits analysis has also shown that a virtual permits system would lead to a further 2 FTE approx. efficiency - procurement and piloting of this system is planned for 2014/15. Reviews are also on going in Housing - where the main focus is on reducing the cost of placing people in temporary accommodation and making processes more efficient and moving them online to free up staff time - and Bereavement Services - where the main focus is on creating initial Business Cases for new potentially income generating services, making the best use of ICT and creating a better online presence for the service. The Business Improvement team is also working with the Depot to implement a mobile working solution, which is likely to deliver around 1.8 FTE staff time efficiency savings, more online reporting and a better customer experience when reporting Environmental Services issues. Further reviews are due to start in Revenues and Benefits, Finance, the Museum and Planning in 2014/15.

OUT 007.04

Ensure that the authority has a productive, proactive and flexible workforce

31-Mar-2015

Dena Smart

The Cabinet have now agreed the workforce strategy which will continue to be delivered through the action plan. Systems and processes are in place for effective recruitment, training and performance management of staff. The employee engagement plan is in place and the development of the ambition to reach Investors in People (IiP) Gold by 2015 should ensure this focus continues.